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Amend CSSB 743 (House committee printing) by adding the
following sections, numbered appropriately, and renumbering the
sections of the bill accordingly:
SECTION __. Section 36.053, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) If the commission issues a certificate of convenience
and necessity or, acting under Section 39.203(e), orders an
electric utility or a transmission and distribution utility to
construct or enlarge transmission or transmission-related
facilities to facilitate meeting the goal for generating capacity
from renewable energy technologies under Section 39.904(a), the
commission shall find that the facilities are used and useful to the
utility in providing service for purposes of this section and are
prudent and includable in the rate base, regardless of the extent of
the utility's actual use of the facilities.
SECTION __. Subsection (e), Section 39.203, Utilities Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) The commission may require an electric utility or a
transmission and distribution utility to construct or enlarge
facilities to ensure safe and reliable service for the state's
electric markets and to reduce transmission constraints within
ERCOT in a cost-effective manner where the constraints are such
that they are not being resolved through Chapter 37 or the ERCOT
transmission planning process. The commission shall require an
electric utility or a transmission and distribution utility to
construct or enlarge transmission or transmission-related
facilities for the purpose of meeting the goal for generating
capacity from renewable energy technologies under Section
39.904(a). In any proceeding brought under Chapter 37, an electric
utility or transmission and distribution utility ordered to
construct or enlarge facilities under this subchapter need not
prove that the construction ordered is necessary for the service,
accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public and need not
address the factors listed in Sections 37.056(c)(1)-(3) and (4)(E).
Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 37.057, in any
proceeding brought under Chapter 37 by an electric utility or a
transmission and distribution utility related to an application for
a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct or
enlarge transmission or transmission-related facilities under this
subsection, the commission shall issue a final order before the
181st day after the date the application is filed with the
commission. If the commission does not issue a final order before
that date, the application is approved.
SECTION __. Section 39.904, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (g)- (n)
to read as follows:
(a) It is the intent of the legislature that by January 1,
2015 [2009], an additional 5,000 [2,000] megawatts of generating
capacity from renewable energy technologies will have been
installed in this state. The cumulative installed renewable
capacity in this state shall total 5,880 [1,280] megawatts by
January 1, 2015. The cumulative installed renewable capacity in
this state shall total 2,280 megawatts by January 1, 2007, 3,272
megawatts by January 1, 2009, 4,264 megawatts by January 1, 2011,
5,256 megawatts by January 1, 2013, and 5,880 megawatts by January
1, 2015 [2003, 1,730 megawatts by January 1, 2005, 2,280 megawatts
by January 1, 2007, and 2,880 megawatts by January 1, 2009].
(a-1) The commission shall establish a target of 10,000
megawatts of installed renewable capacity by January 1, 2025. The
commission shall also establish a target of 500 megawatts of
generating capacity from non-wind renewable technologies or
emerging ultra-clean distributed generation technologies including
generation from industrial waste heat and fuel cells, installed in
this state after September 1, 2005. Non-renewable ultra-clean
distributed generation projects as defined in this section, shall
not exceed 200 megawatts of the 500 megawatt target and individual
projects shall not exceed 10 megawatts capacity.
(g) The commission, after consultation with each
appropriate independent organization, electric reliability
council, or regional transmission organization:
(1) shall designate competitive renewable energy
zones throughout this state in areas in which renewable energy
resources and suitable land areas are sufficient to develop
generating capacity from renewable energy technologies;
(2) shall develop a plan to construct transmission
capacity necessary to deliver to electric customers, in a manner
that is most beneficial and cost-effective to the customers, the
electric output from renewable energy technologies in the
competitive renewable energy zones; and
(3) shall consider the level of financial commitment
by generators for each competitive renewable energy zone in
determining whether to designate an area as a competitive renewable
energy zone and whether to grant a certificate of convenience and
necessity.
(h) In considering an application for a certificate of
convenience and necessity for a transmission project intended to
serve a competitive renewable energy zone, the commission is not
required to consider the factors provided by Sections 37.056(c)(1)
and (2).
(i) Transmission service to a competitive renewable energy
zone must be provided in a manner consistent with Subchapter A,
Chapter 35.
(j) The commission, after consultation with each
appropriate independent organization, electric reliability
council, or regional transmission organization, shall file a report
with the legislature not later than December 31 of each
even-numbered year. The report must include:
(1) an evaluation of the commission's implementation
of competitive renewable energy zones;
(2) the estimated cost of transmission service
improvements needed for each competitive renewable energy zone; and
(3) an evaluation of the effects that additional
renewable generation has on system reliability and on the cost of
alternatives to mitigate the effects.
(k) The commission and the independent organization
certified for ERCOT shall study the need for increased transmission
and generation capacity throughout this state and report to the
legislature the results of the study and any recommendations for
legislation. The report must be filed with the legislature not
later than December 31 of each even-numbered year and may be filed
as a part of the report required by Subsection (j).
(l) The commission may adopt rules requiring renewable
power facilities to have reactive power control capabilities or any
other feasible technology designed to reduce the facilities'
effects on system reliability.
(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
commission shall ensure that all renewable capacity installed in
this state and all renewable energy credits awarded, produced,
procured, or sold in this state are counted toward the goal in
Subsection (a).
(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
commission may cap the price of renewable energy credits and may
suspend the goal contained in Subsection (a) if that suspension is
necessary to protect the reliability and operation of the grid.
SECTION __. (a) The Public Utility Commission of Texas, in
cooperation with the appropriate independent organizations
certified under Section 39.151, Utilities Code, electric
reliability councils, and regional transmission organizations,
shall study cost-effective options for meeting this state's
long-term transmission system needs to accommodate renewable
energy requirements and targets under section 39.904, Utilities
Code, as amended by this Act, and any additional electric
generation capacity or other infrastructure necessary to meet the
state's projected growth in demand for electric energy for the
period ending January 1, 2005. This study is not intended to delay
commission action in meeting near-term renewable energy needs of
the state.
(b) The commission shall present to the legislature not
later than December 31, 2006, a report of the results of the study
and detailed recommendations regarding the most cost-effective
measures to meet reliably this state's electricity requirements.
The report may be included in the report required by Section
39.904(j) or (k), Utilities Code, as added by this Act.